Complications
by Kalira69
Summary: This was supposed to be easy, each of them had a plan - get through the 100 days of the contract, and everything will be over. But it's not so simple any more. (Canon insert. Pre-relationship. Hints at every combination of Mu Gyul/Mary/Jung In.)


Mary yelped, startled, as the men toppled onto the floor, twisting her hands together in front of her. "Mu Gyul! Director! Please- This isn't necessary - please don't act this way!" she pleaded.

They'd gone still a few moments after hitting the floor, but as they made no move to get up Mary fretted beside them. Mu Gyul was sprawled on his back, left hand fisted in the shoulder of Jung In's shirt, and Jung In was on all fours over him, right hand just shy of his throat.

Mary jumped, yelping, as Jung In suddenly leaned down closer to Mu Gyul, the muscles in his arm tightening. Before anything else could happen, all three of them froze and went silent at the sound of the door opening.

Heavy footsteps approached the living room. "Ah, Jung In son-in-law, I am sorry to intrude upon you-"

"My father!" Mary exclaimed, forcing herself to keep it quiet. "What do-" she broke off, trembling, looking towards the doorway and then at the men still on the floor.

Jung In jerked back, rolling back onto the balls of his feet and catching hold of Mu Gyul's wrist, dragging him upright. "Mu Gyul!" Mary whispered urgently. He already looked half-panicked, eyes wide as he looked around the luxurious, yet rather spare room.

"My room." Jung In urged, grabbing Mu Gyul's shoulders and turning him around, pushing him on towards the partially-open glass that blocked off Jung In's bedroom. "Go on, he won't see you there."

Mu Gyul glanced back towards the door and then darted for the relative safety of Jung In's bedroom. Just in time, as Mary's father stepped into the living room. She winced and hoped he had seen nothing, hurriedly trying to pull a reasonable-looking smile to her lips as she echoed Jung In's offered welcome.

Her father professed his delight at seeing them together, and clasped Jung In's hand between both of his as he went on for another few minutes before he could be urged to a seat. He took it and promptly began rambling again, and Mary glanced at the open doorway beyond which Mu Gyul was hopefully well-hidden.

Mary and Jung In both tried to encourage her father to leave quickly, to no effect, and Mary kept quietly worrying. Her father's sudden appearance had put her badly off-balance, and her thoughts kept straying to Mu Gyul, hiding nearby. Fortunately Jung In hadn't been similarly thrown and her father was paying more attention to him in any case.

Eventually - _finally_ \- he bid them good night, and Mary walked him to the door, expecting to see Mu Gyul emerging from his hiding place when she returned. Instead, there was only Jung In, clearing away their glasses and glancing towards his bedroom, which remained silent and dark.

After he returned the glasses to the kitchen, he moved towards his room, and Mary drifted after him, though she stopped at the doorway. Jung In turned on the lamp, though there had already been enough light to see that Mu Gyul was stretched out across Jung In's bed.

Mary leaned a little closer, hoping they weren't going to go straight back to arguing, and was surprised when she heard a little snort of laughter from Jung In. He turned back towards her. "He's asleep, Mary. It _is_ getting late. Why don't you go to bed?"

Mary just looked at him. "You may as well both stay here for tonight. I'm certainly not planning another . . . disagreement." Jung In told her with a faint, wry smile, and Mary hesitated, but then she sighed and nodded tentative agreement. "I'll just wake him and get him settled, I promise. Good night, Mary." he said, his voice soft and sweet.

"Good night, Director." Mary replied, ducking her head, then glancing past him at Mu Gyul. _Good night, Mu Gyul._ she thought, but left the Director to handle him without further argument and went to the little library bedroom.

* * *

After bidding Mary good night, Jung In gave a rather half-hearted attempt at waking Mu Gyul, then slipped off to ready himself for bed and . . . think. He hadn't tried very hard to wake Mu Gyul because he wasn't entirely sure he was ready to face him just yet.

Dealing with Mary's father had been slightly tiresome - as it ever was - and though it had not taken very much attention . . . it had still been enough that he couldn't think of- He frowned.

They had been arguing - fighting, really - and then Mu Gyul had slipped, or he had pushed the other man off-balance, and they'd both crashed to the floor, and then . . . something had changed. Something felt. . .

He shook his head and moved back to the bed, resting one knee on it. "Mu Gyul?" Jung In tried again, clasping Mu Gyul's shoulder this time and shaking him gently. "It's safe now." he said, dryly amused. He was aware Mu Gyul had an entirely different sort of trouble dealing with Mary's father than _he_ did, but it was still rather amusing seeing him - and Mary - scurrying like panicked mice in their constant bids to avoid the man.

Mu Gyul woke with a mumble and a vaguely-aimed swat which connected with Jung In's thigh, at which he took no offence - he didn't actually think Mu Gyul had woken up enough to realise where he was before flailing at him.

"Jung In?" Mu Gyul said, slightly puzzled, though his eyes were rapidly clearing of his sleepy lack of focus. "What. . ."

"You were hiding in my room and fell asleep in my bed." Jung In supplied, lips pursing as he straightened a bit. "Are you quite comfortable?" he asked dryly.

"More than on your sofa." Mu Gyul grumbled, unfazed, rubbing his face with the back of one hand. Mu Gyul pushed himself up on one palm, neatening his hair with an absent slide of his fingers. "You were about to kiss me." he said, and Jung In froze.

"I-" he stopped. He didn't actually have anything to say - and he _had_ been . . . he didn't exactly know why he had suddenly felt the impulse, but he had been on the verge of giving in to it before the arrival of Mary's father had disrupted them. Perhaps his interruption had been for the better, this time.

" _Why_ were you about to kiss me?" Mu Gyul asked, sitting up properly and cocking his head to one side, eyes sharp.

Jung In frowned. "I'm not sure." he said. "I- I'm sorry?"

Mu Gyul shook his head, giving Jung In a slightly wary look. "Well-" he began, then stopped. "Figure it out before you try again." he said, lifting his jaw. "You said he's gone, I can leave now?" he asked, moving on before Jung In could even comprehend what he'd said.

"It's late, you may as well stay here for the night. Mary has already gone to bed." Jung In said, seizing gratefully on the changed topic.

"And go back to the sofa?" Mu Gyul said distastefully. "I'm already here." he pointed out, leaning back and shifting comfortably on Jung In's bed.

Jung In sighed, eying the free space in the bed. "Well, it isn't the first time you've slept here." he said, capitulating without much of a fight. "Get off the duvet." he added as he rose to go to the other side of the bed. "I'm not letting you take my bed."

Mu Gyul blinked at him, and Jung In yanked illustratively at the free end of the duvet, which was trapped mostly under Mu Gyul's body, as he'd clearly just sprawled over the bed while hiding in here. Mu Gyul scrambled off it after a moment and another pointed yank, standing by the bed. Jung In climbed in, leaving the space Mu Gyul had been in free for him and lying down, yawning.

"You're going to share?" Mu Gyul asked, sounding much less certain of himself now.

"It was your idea." Jung In pointed out sleepily, turning onto his side, though he rarely slept that way. "If you insist, I suppose I can manage."

Mu Gyul was silent for a time, and despite his exhaustion - his early morning for work tomorrow was going to be unpleasant, he suspected - Jung In didn't drop off just yet, listening. Finally he heard a rustling sound, and wondered if Mu Gyul was going to leave after all - if he didn't go home, he had _best_ be content with the sofa in the other room. . .

The bed shifted and Mu Gyul apparently made himself carefully comfortable on the other side once more. Jung In tried not to stiffen any more, perhaps a little less comfortable with the idea than he had tried to appear. Unlike the last time, when it had been easy and he hadn't spared a thought to it. Things had . . . changed, since then.

Although . . . the room seemed smaller and less cold with Mu Gyul's larger-than-life presence in it, even when he was being quiet. And Jung In found that the soft sounds of someone else's breathing nearby were reassuring as he fell asleep, easier than he had in years.

* * *

Mary realised halfway to the kitchen that she would be seeing Jung In and probably Mu Gyul over breakfast this morning, and bit her lip nervously. Surely they weren't going to start fighting again so soon after waking up?

"Good morning, Madam."

Mary jumped, then ducked her head politely as she returned the sentiment, getting a small, tight smile in response. Madam Yoon waved her into the kitchen, and Mary shuffled past, feeling very much like she was being judged lacking. Probably unpresentable. It was before breakfast, Mary thought uncomfortably. It wasn't like she was going to work looking like this.

She was surprised to see no one in the kitchen, where breakfast was laid out and waiting for them. "Ah. . . Director has not come to breakfast yet?" Mary asked, and Madam Yoon pursed her lips - Mary couldn't tell if it was approval or disapproval of her question, but she at least got an answer before the woman swept off again to . . . wherever she went when she wasn't watching over Mary or assisting Jung In.

Mary frowned and went to peek into the entertainment room, finding it empty and showing no signs that anyone had been there last night either. So she could brave knocking on Jung In's door, or wait for him to rise, or call Mu Gyul and ask if he had left last night after all.

She went to go see if she could wake Jung In, partly because she was surprised he wasn't already awake - normally he woke when she did, or often before, and today they were both supposed to be at work. When there was no response to her careful tapping at the door, Mary bit her lip and told herself it was all right. She quietly let herself in.

She could hear the quiet sounds of deep, slow breathing from the bed, though she couldn't see anything but rumpled bedding from this angle. Quite badly rumpled, the duvet looked-

Mary froze when she saw shiny brown hair, and tiptoed closer, peering at the bed in disbelief, trying to confirm that it was _really_ Mu Gyul and not Jung In in the bed. Then she saw that Mu Gyul was lying right beside Jung In, the two men peacefully sharing space, Jung In's arm pressed against Mu Gyul's shoulder.

Mary made to retreat, only to hear the quiet footsteps of Madam Yoon approaching outside, and panicked. She had - probably - known that Mu Gyul had slept here before, but this- and what if-

Mary squeaked, going to slide the smoky glass door closed. Madam Yoon's footsteps padded past, and Mary closed her eyes for a moment, slumping in relief. She returned to the bedside, standing nearer Jung In now.

"Mu Gyul! Director!" Mary tried, glancing back at the door. She looked back at the bed, then paused, biting her lip, and smiled a little. They looked . . . peaceful, and kind of sweet, tucked together this way. And it wouldn't last when she woke them, she thought, with a sigh, even as she smiled fondly at both of them.

It was . . . nice to see them like this, relaxed in each others' presence. She cared about them both, but whenever she saw them together they always seemed to go tense and defensive and . . . this was better.

She sighed again, her mouth twisting. They hadn't been like that with each other at first - though Mary had been horrified to find them together, sure that Jung In had decided to try something . . . sneaky. Before she had come to know him a little better, and realise how sweet he was.

Mary had fully intended to leave both of the men behind - at least romantically - when the hundred days of the contract she hadn't wanted to be caught in to begin with finally ended. Then she had slowly found her mind changing as she spent more time with them, and saw more from each of them.

Unfortunately, it wasn't . . . so easy as just choosing one over the other, as she was 'supposed' to be doing, and as everyone expected.

This situation was a lot messier than it seemed to be for her drama heroines - they always at least knew who they really loved and who were their friends - knew how to choose.

Mary had thought she knew, but Jung In had . . . had inadvertently made her doubt, with his changing behaviour - softer around her, and touchingly awkward - and his acceptance of Mu Gyul in her life, the way he even helped her to avoid her father - their fathers - and while he professed to want to sway her choice, didn't seem to be trying to do so. He even protected Mu Gyul from their fathers, offering him help when he would take it.

Jung In had made her doubt, yes, but Mu Gyul had snuck into the soft place in her heart already, despite both of them insisting that this was only a temporary arrangement and not one that _either_ would be changed by. Though Mu Gyul's own behaviour more recently said something different. . .

Mary sagged where she stood, looking at the two men she cared so very much for. She hadn't intended even to be forced to choose, as the contract indicated - always keeping an eye on that third option, ending everything when the contract was up - and now . . . she couldn't even imagine trying to choose between them. How could she?

Mary wished to keep them the way they were now, quiet and apparently untroubled, both of them near her. She knew that soon this moment would break, and there was no way to stop _that_ , but beyond this moment . . . what was she supposed to do now?

Her life had become such a confusing . . . _mess_.

* * *

First drafted as part of a Music Shuffle Challenge. The song was Too Shy to Scream, by AFI.


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